All work deserves pay
by Izumi1909
Summary: A down-to-his-luck Seiður magic academy student gets the money needed to resolve one of his problems via a generous donation from his roommate. Curious about the money's source, he ends up finding out one of said roomate's secrets.


**All work deserves pay**

One month. He would have quit that job in one month anyway. He had taken it despite already being a full-time student at the Academy of Seiður, to help his family with an unplanned and big expense. But the shop's owner had suddenly fallen ill, and the younger cousin replacing him, upon finding out that Elias was a mage in training, had asked him to use magic to make customers buy more items. When Elias had refused, she had not only fired him, but made it sound like to the whole street that she had caught him misusing magic. How was he going to find a new job, especially one compatible with his schedule, now? He was currently mad at the whole world, and really felt like yelling at someone. So when he had to cross the dormitory's common room and saw that the five alleged "Silent World stowaways" were all there and once again accusing the four others of being fakes while claiming to be the real deal, Elias decided it would be them.  
-Come on, admit it, you are all fakes! You know what you guys should do? Find a sixth person and a cat and set up a series of plays featuring that expedition. You definitely have the material for a good twenty of them between you five. Though the thing you have going right now has the merit of being an original approach to things.  
This was actually the main reason they were all getting away with it. Some people doubted that stowaway really was currently studying at Seiður. Some even doubted that person even existed. Elias himself considered that if that person existed, they were probably being privately trained by some big name of magery while being kept were they were the most needed: the place that people were now thinking of as the world's first Rash curing unit. But he had to admit he actually liked the stories the five fakes came up with when they were not fighting among each other. Elias would maybe even have been that hypothetical sixth person if he hadn't had to take that job on his free time and the game didn't entail claiming to actually be that stowaway.

Elias let himself drop face first into his bed the second he entered his room.  
-You're back early.  
He only now remembered that he was sharing that room with someone else, that he hadn't gotten to know that well due to the need for the job showing up very early in the school year.  
-Got fired. And my reputation ruined. There is no way anyone is going to hire me now.  
His roommate snickered:  
-Sorry. I know it's not funny, but you reminded me of something that was.  
-How can someone getting fired make you think of something funny?  
-It does take a little context to understand. Just wondering... how much do you still need?  
Elias told him the number. He heard his roommate open a drawer, walk towards him, and drop something near his head.  
-Here. It would have been nowhere near enough six months ago, but now it should just about cover what you're missing.  
Elias lifted his head and looked at the small wood box that had been left on his bed:  
-What... how... you can't just give me this...  
-Those are savings I happen to have lying around. To be honest, I don't think I can bring myself to spend that money on myself. If it can help your family and get you out of that hectic schedule a month early, it will have served a good cause.  
Elias kicked his boots off and sat cross-legged on his bed while his roo  
mmate went back to his desk and whatever he had been doing when Elias had entered.  
-Still, I really want to pay you back for this somehow.  
-I'll think of something, if you really want to.  
Elias took the box, opened it and noticed that there was something else than coins inside it:  
-Hey, there seems to be some folded pieces of paper in there. Maybe you want those back.  
-I completely forgot I had left those in there, thanks.

Elias' roommate came back to sit on the edge of his bed, retrieved the pieces of paper and started unfolding one of them to read it. Elias started to count the money in there, deciding to take only what he actually needed and let his roommate keep whatever was left, even if it was single small coin. His roommate smiled as he put down one of the pieces of paper and picked up another to read. Elias was suddenly curious as to what these pieces of paper were:  
-Can I?  
His roommate seemed to ponder the question:  
-Well, you are going to give that money to your family, guess you deserve at least an idea of where it came from. But if you figure it out, please bear in mind that I'm trying to keep a low profile about it.

Elias opened one of the pieces of paper. There was a sentence written in some Scandinavian language, followed by what Elias guessed to be its translation in Icelandic: "The ones that catch fire are cool.". The second was similar, except the Scandinavian was in even more clumsy writing. The Icelandic translation had apparently been made by the same person as the previous note: "If you pick something else than military defense, you're going on the mutiny risk list.". Elias knew his roommate had oriented himself towards runes impacting spirits. That mutiny risk list thing was most likely some kind of private joke, but the person who wrote this was probably a little disappointed if they knew. The third was in another foreign language, and it took Elias a while to realize it had to be Finnish. There was a translation into Icelandic, in handwriting different from that of the two first notes: "Tuuri said you are going to a place that will make you less stupid. I hope it works.". The two notes were actually in Icelandic. One had the same handwriting as the translations of the two first notes: "God job. Don't spend it all in one place.". The other was written by whoever had translated the note in Finnish. It simply said "Thank you for everything.".  
-I'm afraid I don't get it. Did you get this honestly, at least?  
-Don't worry about that. How about I go get us dinner so you can eat early and catch up on all that sleep you must be missing.  
Over the last six months, more than eighty percent of Elias' few interactions with Reynir had been him fixating on him getting enough sleep. Elias had guessed it had been his way of caring. But now the money... his tired brain managed to realize that if Reynir really wanted to keep a low profile about the source of the money, it was better to tell him in the dreamspace than in the waking world, which meant he could have an extra reason of wanting his asleep quickly this evening.

Elias bumped into Reynir just as he was leaving his own safe area. Reynir admitted defeat when Elias pointed out that he needed more than just a vague idea of where the money was coming from. Reynir pondered a little before inviting him to follow him:  
-Some of those who gave me the money are still close by. I was on my way to join one of them.  
Reynir took him to a small group of safe areas that were all empty, except for one that contained thrice the number of people the nearby empty areas accounted for. The area was a big room with a large table, surrounded by benches that seemed destined to people who wanted to listen in, but not participate. Whatever meeting was going on had already started, and the finger Reynir put over his mouth suggested that one of the conditions on listening in was to go by the First Rule of survival. Elias eventually figured out that this was a meeting of mages working either at or with some kind of care facility, and that they were discussing approving the release of one of its female patients. Opinions about her seemed to range from keeping her locked for the rest of her life to her being fit for release for several months already. They ended up voting, and the voting ended up in favor of a release. They meeting's chairman pronounced the verdict:  
-Then it is decided. Tuuri Hotakainen will be released.  
Elias recognized that name. Everyone in the world with half-decent access to information must know that name. Most of the people on the benches stood up and clapped enthusiastically, but Reynir remained seated and wide-eyed. As Elias was about to make sure he was alright, someone else came behind them and tapped Reynir on the shoulder. Both Reynir and Elias turned to face a man who was wearing a fur hooded short cape over a light brown short-sleeved vest and a long-sleeved white tunic. Right behind him was a shorter and thinner man that looked like he could be his younger sibling, who was covering his ears with his hands.  
-How does ditching them before they realize we are here sound?  
-Like a great idea.  
Reynir dragged Elias right out of the room.

The trip to the meeting ended up being redundant, as they were quickly back in Reynir's area, his two acquaintances in tow. The older man finally seemed to notice there was four of them in there:  
-Who is that?  
-My roomate, Elias.  
Reynir went on to explain Elias' situation to the other man, including the part about the money and how he thought he should know about the source of the money. The older man shook Elias' hand:  
-Let's put the end to the questions he must be asking himself immediately, in that case. I'm Onni Hotakainen, the famous Tuuri's older brother. This over there is my cousin Lalli. I warn you, he doesn't do greetings, and being associated with Reynir won't work in your favor.  
Elias' mind clicked when he remembered the only name among the notes, and realized that the Tuuri from one of them and the one who was going to be released the next day were one and the same. Did this mean that... he turned towards Reynir:  
-Wait, you are...  
-Yes.  
Reynir told Elias the whole story. It was now a known fact that the Silent World expedition's funding had been subpar, and that it had meant that even the people officially hired for it were are extremely low salaries and that the two people involved that weren't part of the original plan, including the famous stowaway, had been basically doing voluntary work. But even if it hadn't been much, there still had been money. And the rest of the crew had decided that Reynir deserved an equal share of it. With the stipend given to Seiður students, spending that money had yet to become necessary in the last six months. Onni spoke again once the explanations were over:  
-Now, anything new from the "the fakes" since last time?  
Reynir gave him a bewildered look:  
-Is this really how you want to celebrate tonight?  
-A true celebration should consist of an activity that one really wants to do.  
Lalli pronounced his first words in the whole evening:  
-Does this mean I can leave?  
-You can but you'll miss the latest from the guy who's convinced that the two of us are the best friends in the whole world, answered Reynir.  
-I'll stay. I thought that place was supposed to make people less stupid.  
The rest of the night was spent alternating between Reynir relating stories from the fake Silent World stowaways and discussion of what everyone was going to do on the next day, while Elias couldn't be any gladder to accept that money.


End file.
